John Prescott has told tax inspectors to use satellites to snoop on
householders' attempts to improve their homes.

Images of new conservatories and garages taken from space will be used
to hike up council taxes and other property levies, official guidance
obtained by The Independent on Sunday reveals.

Mr Prescott's department is overseeing the creation of a database
containing the details of every house in Britain to help tax
inspectors to assess new charges.

Even minor improvements, invisible from the road, will be caught by
"spy in the sky" technology that uses a mix of aerial and satellite
images taken over time to spot changes.


Err... it's Google isn't it.

Google Earth, Google Maps - keep it quiet.

While they concentrate on ways of putting up Council Tax they seem to
be ignoring the fact that an ever increasing number or people are
refusing point blank to pay up. Just how many pensioners do you think
they can send to prison.

Remember the fuel protests they'll **** themselves if something similar
starts over the Council Tax, if it hasn't already.

It all just goes to show how right Maggie was all along with the Poll
Tax. If they could have worked out a better way to collect it
(payroll?) then I still think it would be a winner.